IMO the 01 F650 gs is a great bike to get your feet wet in "Adventure" riding. It's not as fast as the Wee, but has enough power to get out of it's own way and will travel two up quite well (many will disagree with that comment) Has decent fuel range (uses Premium however) and will feel considerably lighter than the Wee due to the location of the fuel tank under the seat (especially usefull off the beaten track). Spoked rims apparently are much better than cast rims offroad too. F650.com is an invaluable resource again IMO. I own a Wee but would love to eventually pick up an older F650gs especially for learning how to be a better "dirt/gravel" rider

"That road less traveled is a toll road, and sometimes the charge is more expensive than we ever expected. Most of the time, it's a one way road. Make the decision, hope for the best, and start traveling. Carry lots of coins." PecosBill

Not saying that nobody has ever ridden a V-Strom down a trail. The local Suzuki dealer says he loves it when I ride my V-Strom on trail, because afterwards I come in for parts.

If you don't know what you are doing, don't buy a V-Strom for trail riding. If you do know what you are doing, you already know not to buy a V-Strom for trail riding.

__________________
Advanced pancreatic cancer found 04/2010. Have outlived +/- 97% of patients with this diagnosis, but 08/2013 cancer now in liver, vascular system and lungs with 20+ lung tumors. Sick/weak sometimes, not riding much. No more treatments & now under Hospice care.

I've had a 650gs dakar for some years and it's worked for me for everything I've done. Taken it long haul many times, including interstate, and on plenty of dirt riding. Granted it has more suspension and a better seat than the regular 650gs. It doesn not require premium, 87 is fine. Gas mileage has been excellent, often in the mid 60s.

I'd say it's a more versatile bike than the wee, and lighter too. One thing to pay attention to is the fueling. The early ones (up to 2002, but i may be wrong) had surging problems.

Another plus is the f650.com website, a wealth of info about anything you'd need to know if you own this bike. Good luck.

Bull. The converse is true. Especially for the problematic '01. Many true fixes are available for the occasional surging/stallings, especially of the 01's. They'll putt right along doing the ton day in and out.

My experience is indeed with an 01 model and at one point it did have the "surging" problem, but I believe it was eventually fixed by one of the dealers (the bike belonged to my friend Susan) According to what I remember she was told to use Premium and I'm trying to remember if i also read it in her owners manual

I will agree it'll easily travel along all day at it's upper limit while fully loaded and it can even do 800 mile days and yes with a passenger (as Tedder asked). I never found it to be all that buzzy, but others are free to disagree

Quote:

Originally Posted by Motoplaner

Bull. The converse is true. Especially for the problematic '01. Many true fixes are available for the occasional surging/stallings, especially of the 01's. They'll putt right along doing the ton day in and out.

"That road less traveled is a toll road, and sometimes the charge is more expensive than we ever expected. Most of the time, it's a one way road. Make the decision, hope for the best, and start traveling. Carry lots of coins." PecosBill

My experience is indeed with an 01 model and at one point it did have the "surging" problem, but I believe it was eventually fixed by one of the dealers (the bike belonged to my friend Susan) According to what I remember she was told to use Premium and I'm trying to remember if i also read it in her owners manual

I will agree it'll easily travel along all day at it's upper limit while fully loaded and it can even do 800 mile days and yes with a passenger (as Tedder asked). I never found it to be all that buzzy, but others are free to disagree

I used to have one and still have the pdf service manual. Definitely premium gas, 95 RON. The surging problem was fixed with a Dobek fuel tuner sold under the name Techlusion. Smoothed the bike out some too.

I've never ridden a Wee but it would seem clear to me that the Wee, with it's 6 speed twin is the better road bike and the GS with it's lower weight and CG for trails. Having said that, the GS is still a bit of a pig on the trails and there are lighter 650's out there. It can do long highway rides fine but it ain't no Goldwing. Then again, I'd gone down a tooth on the front sprocket for trails and paid a bit of a penalty on the hwy.

I know lots of people do it, but personally I think any 650 is too big for tight trails, but fine for double track kinda stuff.